Half-Way Day!

Ready or not, as of today we are officially half-way done cooking this baby. YIKES! I love this part of pregnancy. I feel healthy and wonderful. The belly is showing and still considered "cute" by some people. I'm not too large, things don't hurt, I can feel the little guy/girl doing all her flips and turns and kicks, but he is not big enough to deliver killer punches to my spleen yet. The next 4 1/2 months I'll just be growing, growing, growing. And then--and this sends shivers down my spine--we'll have THREE, count them, THREE children. Augh!!!!! What have I signed up for???? Seriously, we are excited for this baby : ) Just a little nervous this time around.
The kids are sleeping right now, and I thought I'd take a nap as well since I had to take the kids to the dentist this morning, which is an emotionally draining experience in this household. Not because the kids hate the dentist or anything. Ezra is a model patient. Caroline has a long way to go, but she's never bitten the finger entirely off of a hygienist, so it's not all bad. The emotional drain comes from hearing just how much worse Ezra's tooth decay has gotten. BUT--I didn't cry this time. It was our first visit to our new dentist, and I really like him. He did not blame me for Ezra's decay. He did not tell me I needed to put my three year old on a no-carb diet. He did not get mad at me for breast feeding beyond 1 year (NO, they do not still breast feed). And, he told me that Caroline's teeth look great. We got fluoride varnish put on her at a young enough age to stop the decay before it got too far on her. I've never had a dentist say "looks good!" about either kid. So I was ecstatic to hear that. However, we do have to have some major work done on Ezra. His decay has reached his roots and is causing pain. No more "wait and see" game. It's time to act.
The reason I'm not napping? I made a batch of granola that I can't stop eating warm out of the oven. Since I can't eat and nap at the same time, I figured I should at least eat and blog. I promise only a couple more vacation posts. These pictures are some odds and ends from visits to a friend's house to meet her new baby, mommy group and a trip out on the Sound with Daddy.

Caroline reading to baby Ella.

Back at Grandpa and Grandma's, Grandpa made a trip up to the attic to find some new-old toys. He opted for the McDonald's play set. No--this play set is not the reason I worked at McD's : ) The kids sure had a blast making ice cream cones, french fries and burgers.

We had heard that the weather was supposed to be somewhat icky on Saturday, so Thursday night we thought we'd better sneak out in the boat with Daddy to enjoy some nice weather while it was around. We grabbed some subs and hit the water. Ezra started out as our Captain.

We motored out around the tip of Vashon Island and then back by Salmon Beach. Salmon Beach is its own little community of houses built directly on the water at the base of a very long and steep bank. The only access is by boat or the loooooooong walk down all those steps (I didn't get a good picture) and we're talking hundreds of steps. Residents can park their cars at the top. Can you imagine hauling your kid to the bus stop at 8 AM? Yikes!

Anyone with a camera out on the water is obligated to take pictures of such a show-off mountain, of course. Such a dominating figure on the skyline!

These kids are bow-babes. They spent some time up front at the beginning of our trip out but both came back to lay on the floor under towels because it was so windy and cold up front. Once we got back into the Harbor and had to motor along at no more than 5 mph, they were back up front.

Sunset inside Gig Harbor on our way back to the boat ramp. This is only 7 PM--how sad it is when the days get short!

Caroline playing with her friends, Nora and Ronan. Technically they are cousins as well, but it's so far removed it's hardly worth a mention.

Ezra with Thomas and James. Look at all that red hair!

This game is called "How many red-heads can we fit on a tire swing without having a fist fight?"

A touchy-feely-girly Mommy Group member and another not-so-touch-feely member grimacing during a photo embrace. I love and miss both of these Sisters. I enjoyed getting in on a Mommy Group session while back home. And the kids had fun seeing their old friends. And now, naps are over and it's time to get dinner going!